Idea for lottery ticket recycle machines

Started by hotdogPi, December 16, 2018, 10:15:24 AM

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hotdogPi

Many people throw lottery tickets away, sometimes on the ground. I have an idea for increasing recycling rates. There would be a machine at retail stores that would give out 1% per losing lottery ticket (e.g. 5¢ for a $5 ticket), redeemable at checkout like bottle return machines and Coinstar already do. If a winning ticket is accidentally put in the machine, it will give it back and tell you that it's a winning ticket (optionally: amounts $10 and under will add the winning amount to the total instead of just a few cents). It should also reject unscratched tickets, whether they're winners or not.

If possible, it would tell you that an out-of-state lottery ticket is out of state (and which state it's from), instead of just rejecting it with no special message. This might not be something that's possible to do, though.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.


1995hoo

The grocery store I patronize has a blue recycle can next to the lottery ticket vending machines.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

kalvado

Great idea.
Now do the math and estimate how long would it take for such machine to pay off for itself in terms of resources used for fabrication and operation as the use of those resources also results in pollution.

kalvado

Quote from: 1995hoo on December 16, 2018, 11:01:39 AM
The grocery store I patronize has a blue recycle can next to the lottery ticket vending machines.
Even that may be a bad idea, after all. Plastic coatings may ruin the recycled product.
Ever noticed that paper ream wrappers are often non-recyclable?

jeffandnicole

As long as the scan code is scratched, the machine can easily tell all of that information.

Most people probably won't go thru that effort though...even though your idea does pretty much make every ticket a guaranteed winner!

abefroman329

You think that's bad, you should go to the track.

US71

There was a store in Arkansas once that allowed customers to enter a "second chance drawing" with non-winning tickets. You'd put your name and phone number on the ticket and throw it in a basket. Every couple weeks, they would draw a winner who would receive a small cash prize.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

roadman

In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

abefroman329

Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AMFewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.
It's not a way for the state lottery commission to make money, though.

I can see how this is an eyesore and annoying for store employees, but they're easily swept up and (mostly) biodegradable.  There are things I'm far more concerned with ending up in landfills than scratch-and-win tickets.

US71

Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AM
In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.

Arkansas rotates games  on a regular basis. Now that casinos have been approved, I'm sure the lottery will take a hit, as will the scholarships sponsored by the lottery.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

kalvado

Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AM
In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.
Ticket manufacturing cost is fairly low, I assume, so printing another zillion tickets is only that expensive.
Winning odds are pretty much fixed in terms of total payout to total sales ratio. You cannot go above 95% due to administrative overheads, people would stop buying below 50%.  Only difference one can make is to have a single $10000 prize vs many $2 prizes. Adding yet another game doesn't change much, but makes everyone believe organizers are working hard.

SectorZ

Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AM
In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.

There is nothing like standing in a convenience store line in our fair state, behind somebody squinting at the rows of all the tickets they can choose from, spending five minutes trying to figure out which ticket will be least likely to separate them from their income. This is actually a lesser problem in New Hampshire to the north, though for some reason the border towns are the worst, with Salisbury being the #1 per capita lottery town in the state.

hotdogPi

Quote from: SectorZ on December 17, 2018, 06:00:30 PM
Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AM
In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.

There is nothing like standing in a convenience store line in our fair state, behind somebody squinting at the rows of all the tickets they can choose from, spending five minutes trying to figure out which ticket will be least likely to separate them from their income. This is actually a lesser problem in New Hampshire to the north, though for some reason the border towns are the worst, with Salisbury being the #1 per capita lottery town in the state.

Fortunately, Massachusetts lottery tickets have the highest returns of all fifty states, at 72% before taxes. Keno is 70%.

Percentages for each state: https://wizardofodds.com/are-lottery-players-smart/
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

US71

Quote from: SectorZ on December 17, 2018, 06:00:30 PM
Quote from: roadman on December 17, 2018, 09:27:45 AM
In Massachusetts, you can walk into nearly ANY store to purchase lottery products - including between 60 and 90 separate scratch games.  And their solution when sales start to fall - add EVEN MORE games.

Before we begin to consider how to recycle all these scratch tickets, perhaps we need to reconsider the need for having so many separate games.  Fewer games, with better odds of winning more than the face value of the ticket, is one way to reduce the litter all these tickets create.

There is nothing like standing in a convenience store line in our fair state, behind somebody squinting at the rows of all the tickets they can choose from, spending five minutes trying to figure out which ticket will be least likely to separate them from their income. This is actually a lesser problem in New Hampshire to the north, though for some reason the border towns are the worst, with Salisbury being the #1 per capita lottery town in the state.

Many c-stores now have separate counters for scratching tickets after customers started holding up traffic at the cash register scratching their Instant Win tickets.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

allniter89

I've been in a  convenience store line where a customer was scratching tickets at the only working register. She kept winning small cash prices which she immediately bought more tickets. This went on for 10 mins or more with a waiting line of 6. I walked out w/out paying got my 12oz bottle of coke. Most c-stores around heah ask for u to step away from the counter to scratch.
BUY AMERICAN MADE.
SPEED SAFELY.

US71

Quote from: allniter89 on December 17, 2018, 07:39:34 PM
I've been in a  convenience store line where a customer was scratching tickets at the only working register. She kept winning small cash prices which she immediately bought more tickets. This went on for 10 mins or more with a waiting line of 6. I walked out w/out paying got my 12oz bottle of coke. Most c-stores around heah ask for u to step away from the counter to scratch.

That should be common sense, which isn't very common anymore.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

jeffandnicole

The NJ Lottery likes to tell stories of those who won, and the background behind the winning ticket.

They don't pretty it up.  In this story, it mentions the guy saw some tickets in a trash can so he decided to play that game, and scratched off the ticket right in the store!

https://www.njlottery.com/en-us/newsandevents/newsinput/2018/press-releases/so_122118_winner.html

KEVIN_224

I occasionally pick up a scratch ticket on the ground...if it's not ripped and all wet. Connecticut has a small square 2D "Scratch 2 Cash" box on every instant (scratch) ticket. If that's uncovered, then somebody likely already checked it. Why pick them up to check them? My brother found a $15 winner earlier this year. The idiot who bought it didn't scratch enough off. It had a single spot number match. Whoops! :)

One place which has instant ticket vending machines? The new MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. There's like 4 or 5 of them scattered around. Clearly, it's an afterthought. Due to having maybe 16 spots in it, there was only ONE $1 ticket sold in it. Maybe three $2 tickets. The rest was all $5, $10 and $20. Funny if you win on one while there, because there's no sales agent on the floor there to cash it. The machine does offer online sales (Numbers, Mass Cash, Megabucks Doubler, Lucky For Life, PowerBALL and Mega Millions). You have to feed it with your own bet slip if you want your own numbers.

One of the gift shops at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Montville, CT sells Connecticut Lottery tickets. Not sure if the store can cash anything over $600 though. I have also seen vending machines at Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs in Plains, PA (on PA Route 315 near Wilkes-Barre).

Scott5114

When I bought my house, there was a completed scratch-off ticket in one of the kitchen drawers, seeming left there by one of the contractors that was remodeling the house before I bought it. I took it in and checked it, figuring they would have just thrown it away if it was a loser. Sure enough, $15.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

roadman

Quote from: KEVIN_224 on December 25, 2018, 09:53:33 AM
I occasionally pick up a scratch ticket on the ground...if it's not ripped and all wet. Connecticut has a small square 2D "Scratch 2 Cash" box on every instant (scratch) ticket. If that's uncovered, then somebody likely already checked it. Why pick them up to check them? My brother found a $15 winner earlier this year. The idiot who bought it didn't scratch enough off. It had a single spot number match. Whoops! :)

One place which has instant ticket vending machines? The new MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. There's like 4 or 5 of them scattered around. Clearly, it's an afterthought. Due to having maybe 16 spots in it, there was only ONE $1 ticket sold in it. Maybe three $2 tickets. The rest was all $5, $10 and $20. Funny if you win on one while there, because there's no sales agent on the floor there to cash it. The machine does offer online sales (Numbers, Mass Cash, Megabucks Doubler, Lucky For Life, PowerBALL and Mega Millions). You have to feed it with your own bet slip if you want your own numbers.

One of the gift shops at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Montville, CT sells Connecticut Lottery tickets. Not sure if the store can cash anything over $600 though. I have also seen vending machines at Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs in Plains, PA (on PA Route 315 near Wilkes-Barre).
North Station commuter rail station and several supermarkets north of Boston have MA lottery vending machines.  And the inefficiency and WASTE of the Lottery operation continues.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

jeffandnicole

Quote from: KEVIN_224 on December 25, 2018, 09:53:33 AM
One place which has instant ticket vending machines? The new MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. There's like 4 or 5 of them scattered around. Clearly, it's an afterthought. Due to having maybe 16 spots in it, there was only ONE $1 ticket sold in it. Maybe three $2 tickets. The rest was all $5, $10 and $20. Funny if you win on one while there, because there's no sales agent on the floor there to cash it. The machine does offer online sales (Numbers, Mass Cash, Megabucks Doubler, Lucky For Life, PowerBALL and Mega Millions). You have to feed it with your own bet slip if you want your own numbers.

These types of machines are becoming fairly common.  NJ uses them in convenience stores that want to sell lottery tickets but don't want it to be a major sales driver at the stores. 

$1 instant tickets are nearly extinct, and the prizes associated with them are quite small.  $2, $3, and $5 tickets are the price points people like to play, or buy as gifts for friends.

Quote from: roadman on December 27, 2018, 12:36:12 PMNorth Station commuter rail station and several supermarkets north of Boston have MA lottery vending machines.  And the inefficiency and WASTE of the Lottery operation continues.

People are standing there waiting for a train, so they purchase a lottery ticket while waiting. Sounds incredibly efficient to me.  If a lottery ticket is waste, then so is the disposable coffee cup many commuters are holding.

abefroman329

Quote from: jeffandnicole on December 27, 2018, 12:50:53 PMThese types of machines are becoming fairly common.  NJ uses them in convenience stores that want to sell lottery tickets but don't want it to be a major sales driver at the stores.
On the other hand, if you don't have a manual lottery terminal, then that means winners can't cash in their tickets at the store, which means they can't spend the cash at the store...

roadman

Quote from: jeffandnicole on December 27, 2018, 12:50:53 PM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on December 25, 2018, 09:53:33 AM
One place which has instant ticket vending machines? The new MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. There's like 4 or 5 of them scattered around. Clearly, it's an afterthought. Due to having maybe 16 spots in it, there was only ONE $1 ticket sold in it. Maybe three $2 tickets. The rest was all $5, $10 and $20. Funny if you win on one while there, because there's no sales agent on the floor there to cash it. The machine does offer online sales (Numbers, Mass Cash, Megabucks Doubler, Lucky For Life, PowerBALL and Mega Millions). You have to feed it with your own bet slip if you want your own numbers.

These types of machines are becoming fairly common.  NJ uses them in convenience stores that want to sell lottery tickets but don't want it to be a major sales driver at the stores. 

$1 instant tickets are nearly extinct, and the prizes associated with them are quite small.  $2, $3, and $5 tickets are the price points people like to play, or buy as gifts for friends.


Massachusetts still offers multiple $1 tickets.  They also offer multiple $10, $20, and $30 scratch tickets.
Quote

Quote from: roadman on December 27, 2018, 12:36:12 PMNorth Station commuter rail station and several supermarkets north of Boston have MA lottery vending machines.  And the inefficiency and WASTE of the Lottery operation continues.

People are standing there waiting for a train, so they purchase a lottery ticket while waiting. Sounds incredibly efficient to me.  If a lottery ticket is waste, then so is the disposable coffee cup many commuters are holding.

North Station also has a newsstand that one can purchase any of NINETY different and unique scratch tickets.  So explain to us how having both person sales AND a vending machine maximizes efficiency.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

jeffandnicole

Quote from: roadman on December 27, 2018, 01:55:42 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on December 27, 2018, 12:50:53 PM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on December 25, 2018, 09:53:33 AM
One place which has instant ticket vending machines? The new MGM Casino in Springfield, MA. There's like 4 or 5 of them scattered around. Clearly, it's an afterthought. Due to having maybe 16 spots in it, there was only ONE $1 ticket sold in it. Maybe three $2 tickets. The rest was all $5, $10 and $20. Funny if you win on one while there, because there's no sales agent on the floor there to cash it. The machine does offer online sales (Numbers, Mass Cash, Megabucks Doubler, Lucky For Life, PowerBALL and Mega Millions). You have to feed it with your own bet slip if you want your own numbers.

These types of machines are becoming fairly common.  NJ uses them in convenience stores that want to sell lottery tickets but don't want it to be a major sales driver at the stores. 

$1 instant tickets are nearly extinct, and the prizes associated with them are quite small.  $2, $3, and $5 tickets are the price points people like to play, or buy as gifts for friends.


Massachusetts still offers multiple $1 tickets.  They also offer multiple $10, $20, and $30 scratch tickets.

I'm not arguing what they sell.  I'm just stating what the price points are that the majority are sold at.


Quote from: roadman on December 27, 2018, 12:36:12 PMNorth Station commuter rail station and several supermarkets north of Boston have MA lottery vending machines.  And the inefficiency and WASTE of the Lottery operation continues.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on December 27, 2018, 12:50:53 PMPeople are standing there waiting for a train, so they purchase a lottery ticket while waiting. Sounds incredibly efficient to me.  If a lottery ticket is waste, then so is the disposable coffee cup many commuters are holding.

Quote from: roadman on December 27, 2018, 12:36:12 PMNorth Station also has a newsstand that one can purchase any of NINETY different and unique scratch tickets.  So explain to us how having both person sales AND a vending machine maximizes efficiency.

I'm not sure what the issue with efficiency is here.  I can often by train tickets at a machine, or with a live person.  There's often soda vending machines outside stores that sell the same sodas inside.

You have a machine which sells lottery tickets, and a person which sells lottery tickets.  If I'm buying a soda, coffee, snacks, or whatever, I can purchase a lottery ticket in conjunction with that purchase, or if I only want a lottery ticket I can go to the machine.  The supermarket I go to has a lottery ticket machine 10 feet from the service desk which also sells tickets.  It has nothing to do with efficiency; vending machines have to do with the opportunity to sell more product



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